


Getting Better

by TheIcyMage



Category: Gravity Falls, Gravity Falls: Transcendence AU
Genre: Alternate Universe - Transcendence, Gen, Transcendence AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-28
Updated: 2016-04-28
Packaged: 2018-06-04 23:58:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,175
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6681175
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheIcyMage/pseuds/TheIcyMage
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In spite of the title, Alcor's ability to make small talk with other adults as the guardian of Toby Pines is not improving.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Getting Better

**Author's Note:**

> Welp, the month is almost over and I haven't posted anything yet, so here's something a little silly. I *was* going to post something in Transcendence AU's sister AU featuring a certain spontaneously named doppelganger, but Windows 10 broke my computer. Hope you enjoy.  
> On an unrelated note, does anyone know if/how to save a computer from the infinite reboot/repair loop?

Getting Better  
  
    Pointless. All these formalities.  He could have just popped into the room, grabbed his-no, _the_ -kid and popped back home. But that would raise questions. It would be clear the next school day that the kid got home safe, but how and when did he leave? Plus, all the other kids would see, and that would would be too big a risk. So there he was, sitting with a group of parents chattering about absolutely nothing interesting while they all waited for their kids to throw their things together and scamper to meet their guardians.   
    At least he got coffee out of it. That counted as payment for going through the slow process of picking his- _the_ -kid up, right? Okay, he may never have been a fan of the bitter caffeinated drink. When Mabel drank it, she shamelessly stuffed it with sweet things, so he had to jump at the chance to show how much more mature he was by contrast for his "preference" of drinking it black. (Or dumping it in another dimension to dispose of later.) One grandniblet, Baker, had found ways to turn the bitter bean into sweets. Those were pretty good. This coffee, though, was boring. It had simply been served with sugar and milk. It wasn't bad, not entirely, but was it enough?   
    He took another sip and hid a grimace. Hmm. Was that a hint of cinnamon? He stared at the drink and watched the swirls of steam. Well, at least he blended in more as an adult while drinking it. Just blend in. Don't raise suspicion and ruin the kid's opportunity to have similar encounters. Friends were good for a child's development. It would be a pain to help the kid find new friends. To see him lonely again. To know the kid would have no friends defend him when he was teased. (Because eventually HE would get tired of being teased and show himself and ruin everything. Not because...)   
"What about you, Tyrone?"   
    Shoot! What were they talking about? He tried to search his omniscience, but apparently it was way more important for him to randomly know that the woman to his left, Desmia, had a sister desperately worried about her pet dandelion cat going blind than it was for him to know the last sentence spoken by the group.   
"Sorry," he gave them a sheepish look, "I spaced out. Late night for me. What were we talking about?"   
"Oh, no worries! I was just talking about how Celia is going to visit her father. She rarely gets to see him. What about your son? Has he ever seen his mother?"   
His mother? What?

"I'm sorry?"  
"Well, you never talk about her, but I've always figured you were a single parent whose wife walked out."   
Awkward didn't begin to describe the silence that filled the living room.   
"Aren't you Toby's biological father? I mean, you don't seem to share many physical traits, but both of you are quiet and I've seen you chew on pens sometimes and Toby seems to have a habit of chewing pencils and...well I just thought-"   
This conversation needed to be over. He said the first thing that popped in his head.   
"Oh! My ex-wife." His outburst caught everyone's attention. He was met with a mix of looks of confusion, curiosity, and from one parent, suspicion. "Yeah, she still misses me..." One head shook slowly. "BUT HER AIM IS GETTING BETTER!"   
  
    He was actually kind of impressed. Even without the demonic reverb, his voice echoed through the halls fairly well. From upstairs there was the sounds of several kids stirring. And a baby crying. Oops! Distant memories of three wailing redheaded infants resurfaced and Alcor grimaced. Before he could think to apologize, though, the crying was replaced by cooing. Soon after, two boys stepped down the staircase. One had messy blonde hair and an eyepatch while the other had impossibly curly dark locks. Grateful for a new topic, Alcor greeted them once they completed their descent.

“Good morning, Toby, Jared.”

“Good morning, Mr. Pines!” the second boy returned. (It still felt weird to be called that.)

“Good morning, Tyrone,” the second boy mumbled. The greeting came out from a tiny voice, but less tiny than it had been two years ago. Alcor wasn't the only one to hear him.

“Wait, ‘Tyrone’? You call your father by his first name?” Great. This again.

    Honestly, Alcor was surprised that the boy hadn't slipped up in his drowsy state and called him “Dadrone.” It may have been better if the kid had called him that. Toby and Alcor shared a look. How to best explain?

“Mr. Pines isn’t Toby’s dad, Mrs. Blume,” the second boy said bluntly, “He just looks after him.”

At this point, the boy in question had made his way to Alcor and parked his yellow luggage behind them. One tiny yawn and Alcor decided it was time to take their leave. He set the coffee cup down and looked at the door, but a few eyes still on them. Leaving now would be weird, wouldn't it?

“Yeah. I'm just a single adult that took this kid under my wing. I don't even have an ex-wife.”

“But didn't you say?”

“I remembered a joke my...grandfather used to tell and thought it was a good time to tell it.”

The crowd seemed satisfied enough with the explanation. Alcor grabbed the kid's arm in one hand and luggage in the other.

“You got everything, right, kid?”

Toby nodded.

“Awesome! Let's go.”

Without another glance, Alcor practically flew to the door. He held it open for Toby and another pair followed them out. As the two boys entered a friendly conversation, Alcor found his pace grow less rushed.

“Sorry about Grace. That was…”

“Awkward?” This was easier. He'd had more practice with this adult.

“At least you won't have to talk about it again. You should have heard some of the stories.”

“Like what?”

The other parent laughed. “I think one theory was that Alcor the Dreambender had saved him from an abusive home and left him at your doorstep.”

Alcor pondered that for a minute or two.

“Oh?” the other adult grinned. “Is there more to the story? Was that close?”

It had been ages since someone gave him a look like that. For some reason, it felt nostalgia.

“Maybe,” Alcor matched the tone, “Maybe not. Either way, I'm not telling.”

“Fair enough.” They walked in silence. Their- _t_ _he_ -boys chatted behind them.

“Hey,” they were nearing the Cross residence when the other adult spoke up. “Next time, do you want to drop the boys off together? Jared and I can walk Toby home.”

    Alcor glanced behind him and saw his kid with a tiny grin and a hopeful violet aura with splotches of yellow excitement. What's got him so giddy? He turned back to the other parent. Half the chance of awkward conversation and an excuse? Yeah, the coffee wasn't _nearly_ good enough to turn that down.

“Deal.”


End file.
